


Teens to Turks

by Talliya



Series: Final Fantasy RPs [6]
Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2016-03-20
Packaged: 2018-05-22 09:47:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6074631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talliya/pseuds/Talliya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The adventures and hardships Rude and Reno go through before becoming Turks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is yet another RP between myself and grandpatoenail.  
> I'm Rude, as always.  
> gtn is Reno.  
> We do not own any rights to Final Fantasy 7 or its characters. This work is not for profit.

Reno and Rude had just pulled off a decent haul and had managed to grab three wallets in one swipe. Reno was enjoying a sub he’d bought with a bit of the money and tossed Rude the other half. “Heads up, yo! Pops wants us at the restaurant early tomorrow. Just clean up as usual before he opens up the place. How’s yer wrist, by the way?” Rude had been grabbed by a man who tried to wrestle his wallet back but didn’t seem to understand a 16 year old with iron fists and a 6 foot tall build of muscle wasn’t someone to fight with. Rude had only gotten a sprained wrist from the grab but it still pissed Reno off. The redhead was more of the sneak that distracted people so his partner in crime would have an easier time grabbing what they needed but it didn’t always work. The payoff however, was totally worth it today. Reno looked up at the surprisingly blue sky and smiled at the few white clouds that drifted by.

Rude gave a huge grin showing his miraculously white and even teeth as he caught the other half of Reno’s sub sandwich with his unharmed hand. “I’m alright Red, no worries. It should be better in a day or so as long as I don’t overdo it.” He walked beside the shorter boy as they moved along the rather empty streets already on their way to Pops’ place. “Good, clean-up is easy. So long as we’ve got a place to sleep each night and food to eat on occasion, I’m good. Today was a pretty good day.” He grinned down at the sea green eyes that looked up past him at the sky, “Yer gonna have to do any dishes though, I doubt my wrist could handle it at the moment.” A momentary frown marred his face at the inconvenience his wrist was going to be causing him until it healed. But he shrugged it off and took a bite of the sandwich in his hand.

“Ah, shit. That’s true.” Reno /hated/ touching dishes other people had eaten off of. It was a strange problem to have since he lived on the streets. He’d eaten leftovers off of other people’s plates they left behind but something about cleaning those soggy remnants of a meal made his skin crawl. Then again, that was probably why Rude pointed it out in the first place. Sadistic bastard. The redhead continued to almost skip along, happily munching on his sandwich. He finished a few minutes before they arrived and walked in, sounding the small bell over the door. “Yo, Pops! We’re here!” A grumpy man came out from the back and frowned.

“I told ya, it’s nick, ya brat!” The old man had a bit of an attitude and even speech that was far too much like Reno’s. It was probably where the teen had picked it up but he didn’t really care.

“Yeah, yeah. Sorry, Nick. So, what do ya got today?”

Rude had finished his end of the sub a while before they reached their destination and laughed at Reno and Nick’s banter, they really were a little too alike sometimes. “I sprained my wrist, so I’m on light duties for a couple of days Old Man. Sorry.” He shrugged apologetically. He was sorry, but then again, he kind of wasn’t. He was rather looking forward to what his injury would force Reno to have to do in his place.

“How’d ya manage that?! Y’know what? I don’t really care. I need ya both to sweep up, set out the chairs and wipe down the counters and tables. Make sure any dishes are done and everything is placed in ‘ready-to-grab’ accessibility so that my shop can run fluidly once I open. You guys know the gist of it by now.” He waved them off, “I’ll leave you to it.”

Reno stuck his tongue out at Nick as he went into the back room then grabbed a broom and started sweeping. He could tell by the smirk on Rude’s face he didn’t hate his injury as much as he said. “Asshat.” He grumbled, continuing with his chores.

Rude rolled his eyes at Nick’s uncaring attitude, didn’t really bother him any. He stuck his tongue out at Reno in return before grinning at him, “You like me anyway.” He chuckled as he went about taking chairs off of tables and wiping all of it down, adding the dust and whatever crumbs were left over from the previous cleaning to the floor Reno was sweeping up.

It didn’t take long for Reno to finish up with the morning clean up but he wasn’t happy about the mountain of dishes he’d just finished. “Bleh! Gross. Yo Rude, ready to head out?” Nick grabbed Reno’s shoulder and started frisking him, making sure he hadn’t taken anything. Reno simply rolled his eyes. The man found his pocket watch in Reno’s back pocket and frowned.

“Come with me.” He said, pulling Reno in the back by his hair. He threw the teen against the counter and gave him a slap, then wrapped his hand around his neck. “What have I told ya ‘bout stealin’ from me, brat?” Reno didn’t flinch and just stared blankly at the man. Nick had enough. He locked the door, making the teen more than uneasy. He wrenched Reno down, sitting him at a table and holding his arm over it. “Ya know in some counties they just cut off yer hand if ya steal, right?” Reno’s eyes widened and he began to struggle when Nick held his large butcher’s knife out but he couldn’t get away. The sadistic man began jabbing the tip of the knife between Reno’s spread fingers, making him close his eyes and turn away.

“Holy fuck, yo! What the fuck’s wrong with ya?!?” Reno didn’t dare move, fearing he’d lose a finger or be stabbed.

Rude rolled his eyes as he watched Nick frisk his friend, if Reno wasn’t such a klepto it wouldn’t really be a problem. He wasn’t too worried about it though since he hadn’t seen Reno snatch anything this time, so when Nick palmed his watch Rude glared over at them, then his friend was being hauled none to gently into the back room. Hearing the click of the lock sent Rude into a panic and he raced outside to the tanner’s shop next door and grabbed the biggest sledge hammer he could find before racing back. It took a bit of effort to life the hammer in the first place, and his wrist protested greatly, but he swung it at the door with everything he had in him – if nothing else, simply hoping to distract Nick from whatever he was planning to do to Reno.

Reno gasped when he heard the smashing against the door, knowing it was Rude but winced when the sudden sound caused Nick to stab the back of his hand. “Fuck!!” Reno hollered, pulling his bleeding hand to his chest when Nick let go to open the door, only to be hit in the gut by the large hammer. Reno made a mad dash out, pulling Rude along with him out and around the alley corner to hide behind a dumpster. The redhead was hyperventilating and trembling. He took his hand away to look at it and only panicked more, seeing the heavy bleeding. “Oh, shit...Rude, the fuck do we do?! It won’t stop!” The teen pulled his shirt off and put pressure on the wound, trying to stop the heavy bleeding. “Oh my fuckin’ God!”

“Stop panicking. You’ll be just fine. Let’s get over to Sister Ray’s; I’m sure she’ll bandage you up. I can carry you if you feel fait from blood loss on the way there.” Rude was worried about his friend, but he knew that inaction and staying anywhere near Nick’s joint was a really bad idea. He hurried around with the hammer and replaced before coming back to Reno’s side. “Let’s go.”

Reno was a bit worried Nick might find him when Rude went to return the hammer but sighed in relief, seeing his friend return. “I-I don’t know. Could I actually pass out?!” he squeaked, not knowing the very panic he was having was his body’s way of attempting to stay awake. He was passing out as they spoke, well as Rude spoke and he freaked out.

“Like I said Red, just calm down. Do you feel lightheaded at all?” Rude looked at the boy worriedly Reno seemed rather pale and he knew that Reno had only gotten hurt because he’d startled Nick. But he guessed there was no way around it, what was done was done. “You know what? It doesn’t matter if you do or not, yer in shock, I’ll carry you anyway. Just don’t squirm, my wrist is already killing my from lifting that hammer.” Rude bent down and scooped his friend into his arms and began walking very carefully down the side streets and alleys to get to Sister Ray’s Chapel.

Reno was going to push Rude away but stopped when the other teen mentioned his wrist and stayed still. The redhead hid his face in Rude’s chest whenever he saw anyone, a bit embarrassed but he was /not/ going to argue in a situation like this. He felt his hands and feet going numb and began to shake more out of fear than anything. He didn’t know why his body was reacting the way it was, as normal as it was. Even if he had known why, shock wasn’t something people just got used to.

Rude quickened his pace once he saw the tall spire of the church and finagled his way about so that he could open the big heavy doors without dropping Reno. Once inside the little receiving room just before the next set of double doors into the church’s worship hall he gave a quick look around. He closed the door with his heel and then moved over to a bench that lined one wall and sat Reno on it in the corner so that he’d be propped up just in case he did pass out. “I’ll be right back Red, I’m gonna find Sister Ray. Just hold tight and try not to close your eyes.” Rude wasn’t stupid, he knew that while Sister Ray was in charge here, she couldn’t be everywhere at once. He’d stopped numerous lecherous men from doing things to both the youngsters (both boys and girls) who came here for a safe haven and the women both young and old. He knew that Reno wasn’t really in a position to save himself if someone tried anything, so he wanted to hurry. He opened the door to the chapel slowly, not really knowing if there was a sermon going on or not at this time. Only candle light met his eyes for a moment, then the sleeping bodies of several women and children. Sister Ray and Sister’s Helena and Chrystal saw him though and motioned him over. He nodded once, decisively, then ducked back to Reno and hefted him into his arms again, “Didn’t take as long as I’d thought it would.” He murmured with a smile as he took his friend over to see the Sister’s, closing the door as he passed through it.

Reno felt a bit dizzy but it was mostly just fear getting to him. When Rude picked him up again and brought him into the room, he wasn’t sure what to think. He could hardly register where he was. He knew from the smell of the place but that was about it since his vision was foggy. “That you, sis?” he asked, hoping the woman could hear him and help.

Sister Ray’s humble smile disappeared when she saw Reno, “Yes I’m here Reno. Just hold on.” She turned to Sister Helena, “Go grab the medical supplies, we need to clean this and wrap it up so it does not get infected.” Helena moved off, her blonde hair swishing at her shoulders as she hurried out the pulpit door. Sister Chrystal had already cleared out one of the alcove benches and directed Rude to lay his cargo upon it. Rude did so gently and they simply waited for Sister Helena to get back. She came nearly running through the archway with the supplies in hand and the Sisters went to work on patching Reno up as Rude stood by – watching over the cathedral hall with intense eyes, wary for any threat.

Reno never feared this kind of treatment. It seemed ‘safer’ for some reason. Maybe because the women’s maternal instincts showed real empathy and not just duty for another patient. The woman had warm hands and a gentle touch as well. The redhead tried to calm himself but found it very difficult until his legs were elevated and they worked away at his hand. The oxygen was returning to his brain and the shock was slowly leaving. Reno kept his eyes on either Rude or Sister’s beautiful eyes, avoiding looking at his hand while they fixed it up. “Sis’...I think I’ma p...pass out.” He said with a disgusted expression. He always hated this feeling. It made him completely nauseous knowing he might lose consciousness but at least it was a safer place with them.

Sister Ray smiled down at the red haired boy as they fixed up his hand. “That’s alright Reno, you’ve lost a lot of blood it’s only natural that your body wants you to sleep and replenish it. Get some rest and there will be a good hearty meal for you when you wake up. Need you boys to keep your strength up after all.” She turned and smiled at Rude as well, the silent teen simply nodded his head and kept watch. The Sisters finished with Reno’s hand and cleaned up before leaving so that the boy could rest and recover, Rude standing guard over him.

“But i’feels gross.” He complained in a forced voice. He curled upon his side with a slight pout as he tried to rest off the nauseous and lightheaded feelings creeping up on him. He looked up to Rude with nervous but frustrated eyes. “S’everythin’ safe?” he mumbled, not wanting to rest with any danger around. Not that he didn’t trust Rude to handle it but it was still good to know.

Rude turned to look at his best friend, “Everything’s safe Red. Sleep.” He made his voice and comforting and reassuring as he could before turning back to watch over the room.

Reno finally gave in and closed his eyes. He didn't sleep for long, twitching with unease and constantly tossing and turning.  
~~~  
About three hours after, Reno came to and sat up slowly, wincing at the pain in his hand. He kept it as still as he could as he glanced around.

Hearing the sudden stillness of his friend behind him Rude turned and looked down at him. "Awake? You hungry?" The Sister's had prepared a huge meal for them both and told Rude that once the redhead woke to carry him into the kitchen for it.

Reno blinked and yawned, nodding at Rude's question. Though, Reno was small, he could put away quite a bit of food. It would have been strange for him to ever turn down a meal. The redhead sniffed the air. "Soup? I smell bread too." He was mostly just talking out loud as he stood and tried to place what the rest of the scents were. "Fish, um...bleh! coffee!" Oh, how little he knew he'd come to live off the substance in the future.

Rude chuckled at the face his friend made when he mentioned coffee, Rude didn’t mind the stuff if it was all there was, but Reno hated it. “You don’t get to walk, Sisters’ orders.” Rude said as he moved over and gently swung his best friend into his arms and carried him over to the church’s kitchen.

"What? I hurt my hand not my feeEEEEEEET!!!! Quit doin' that when I ain't ready!!" Rude had a habit of just hoisting him up like that and Reno still got a bit of a jump from it if he got no warning. He didn't mind much. It was just the surprise. When they entered the kitchen, Reno inhaled deeply to get the amazing scents floating around.

Rude chuckled at his friend and continued into the kitchen. He deposited Reno on a chair near the burning orange light in the fireplace next to the end of the table. The Sisters moved around the room, handing them each a plate of food and a bowl of hot soup before filling glasses with water. “Eat up dearies.”

“Thanks.” Reno mumbled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and taking a sip of the soup. He looked at his well bandaged right hand as he began eating, resting it carefully. “Thanks fer the help, sis. I feel a bit better.” He was still a little tired from the loss of blood but he had a feeling that would go away with a good meal like this and some rest. He hoped he’d be able to take it easy for a while. There was always a risk when it came to pick pocketing. He’d gotten a few good hits before so he hoped they wouldn’t need much extra cash for a while. “I think there might be some rain soon. We need to get that tarp tied up today.” He said to Rude as he tipped his bowl, slurping down the rest of his soup.

Rude raised an eyebrow, “Which tarp?” He ate steadily until all of his food was gone, then he cleaned up the kitchen while the Sisters went to check on the other residents of the church.

“That one I found a few weeks back. Last thing we need is a wet bed.” The redhead finished his meal and put his plate in the sink, hoping they didn’t mind that he couldn’t exactly wash it himself at the moment.

Rude nodded and washed their dishes before putting everything else away. Then he helped Reno to his feet, “It’s still dark out doofus, we’re staying here until daylight at the very least. Let’s find a spot and lay down. I need sleep if you don’t.”

“Sounds good to me.” Reno responded, grabbing his friend’s hand and walking back to the room he had been treated in. The younger teen found a comfy spot and curled up for more rest.

Rude smiled and found himself a good spot to stretch out and then fell asleep to his friend’s steady breathing.


	2. Chapter 2

Rude woke to children screaming and the whir of helicopter blades. The fact that these sounds were so loud when he knew he had fallen asleep in a perfectly enclosed church had him immediately alert and extremely suspicious. He could feel the cold stone under him and the wall at his back. Stretching his senses without opening his eyes he could hear Reno breathing, so at least his friend was still nearby and not dying or dead. He opened his eyes slowly and looked out into the room.

What he saw had him jerking into a sitting position his eyes wide and horrified. Half the ceiling was gone from the opposite side of the church from him and there was a ShinRa Electric Company helicopter buzzing around it, some muscled maniac at the open door shooting a gatling gun into the children, nuns and other homeless people who had taken refuge in the building.

Reno slowly opened his eyes, realising the screaming wasn’t a nightmare. He almost screamed himself when he saw what was happening. His eyes were wide and his heart raced every time more shots were fired. “W-What’s goin’ on?” he stuttered.

“I don’t know.” Rude looked over at his friend, “How’s your hand?”

He was cautious, trying not to attract attention to the two of them by keeping his voice low and not moving a lot or quickly. “We should try to find Sister Ray or Sister Helena. You steady now?”

The fact that Rude felt the need to be this quiet actually scared Reno but he nodded none the less. “It’s sore but it should be okay.” He didn’t want to look around. He didn’t want to see either of the sisters down if they’d been hit.

Rude rose slowly to his feet motioning for Reno to follow. He went around a corner into another room and saw ShinRa Infantry gunning down more homeless people. He turned back to Reno and motioned for him to go the other direction, back towards the kitchen.

Reno followed but when Rude motioned for him to go back, the redhead grabbed his friend’s arm, pulling him along with him. How could this be happening??

Rude allowed the smaller boy to take his arm and they maneuvered their way into the kitchen. The pots that had the morning gruel in them were dumped haphazardly across the floor. Rude shook his head, such a waste. He tackled Reno to the floor as a red beam of light began to sweep across the room. Only moving again when he heard a voice call out, “All clear!”

He stayed on the floor but crawled around until he could see in the direction the beam had come from but froze again when he heard, “We’ve got all of the Sisters. The Ancient doesn’t seem to be here if she ever was.” What the hell was that supposed to mean?

Another voice from much closer to him, perhaps on the other side of the counter he was ducked behind, answered. “Fine then. Let’s take the Sisters back to HQ. We’ll find out what they know, and boys, unless these people are attacking you. Don’t shoot them.”

He heard boots moving away as he sat there trying to manage his anger. What the hell?! Who shows up and destroys a freaking CHURCH! Who the fuck does that! And kidnapping nuns? What the fuck is an Ancient? And why the hell is it so important?!

Reno covered his mouth when Rude tackled him, not wanting to make a noise. Take the sisters? Why? The redhead clenched his fists, furious that he couldn’t help. He flinched when his hand throbbed and he saw blood coming through his bandaged hand. It made him all the angrier. They helped him. They risked a lot to do it but they always helped when he and Rude needed it. Reno took a deep breath and got up, standing to face the attackers. “Yer not takin’ them anywhere!” he yelled. He may have seemed like he was being strong but his legs were shaking like twigs in a storm. “Ya can’t just come an’ shoot this place up! And ya sure as hell can’t take them!”

Rude closed his eyes, /Damn it Reno!/ he thought to himself. /You couldn’t have waited to find where the Sisters were first? Or if they were hurt? Or left us any kind of time to make a plan to get them back? NO! You just have to jump out in the middle of things like some kind of damned hero! SHIT!/

The boots stopped moving, “Oh, look! It’s a ratty little boy. Oooh, an already injured little boy. And what exactly do you think you can do to us little boy?”

Rude snuck his head around the corner to see a tall blonde woman in a white suit staring down Reno with a haughty look. /Did she have to call him a little boy?/ Rude winced.

Reno furrowed his brows at the woman’s words. “This ‘little boy’ can beat yer bitchy ass into next week if you don’t let the sisters go now! What did you do with them?!” Reno grabbed one of the large kitchen knives. “Who do you think you are, coming in here and doing this?!?”

The woman chuckled softly, “I like your pluck boy. I am Serena ShinRa, head of the Administrative Research Department of the ShinRa Electric Company. And who, exactly, are you?”

Rude’s heart froze for several seconds and he looked over at Reno, a knife in his hand. Just what in the ever-living fuck did he think he was going to do with that against so many guns?

Reno froze. He knew he couldn’t win and he wasn’t stupid enough to think he could survive a bullet but this feeling of helplessness always drove him over the edge. The knife shook in his fist, giving his already obvious fear away but he couldn’t bring himself to back away. “You can’t take them. People need them here.” He said, his voice much too weak for his liking. The teen’s nerves were beginning to waver. “If yer from Shinra, why come to the slums? Ya got everything ya need! Why come ruin the little good you’ve left in OUR LIVES?!? You have everything the people down here could ask for and more! Why can’t you leeches leave us some fucking piece of mind at least?!”

The woman chuckled again, “If you’re so upset, come with us. Come see what life is like on the other side of that hovering plate. Regardless of what you do we will be taking these good Sisters for questioning. Once we are sure we have all the information we need from them, or are certain that they don’t know what we need, they well be brought back.” She sighed, “If I had arrived before the infantry none of this bloodshed would have happened. Heidegger is simply far too trigger happy for my taste.” She shook her head sadly as she looked the place over.

Rude finally stood up next to his friend, “What do you mean go with you? Why the hell would we want to do that? It’s obvious from you fine clothes and your haughty manner that you do just fine. Why should we have go somewhere else and see how people who have the chance to earn money and live good lives, live? It’s not like we’ll get the chance to be that. The best we can do is keep living, keep moving, and help others as we can. Just what the hell have you ever done to help others?!”

A man in a black suite stepped forward, “Watch your mouth! You know nothing about Lady ShinRa!”

“That’s enough Tseng. He doesn’t know what I have and haven’t done for others.” She waved him quiet with a delicate hand, then turned back to the two teenage boys, “But that is exactly why I am offering you this chance. This is how you can make a better life for yourselves. Come with me, and I’ll show you.”

Reno honestly wanted to just throw the knife and see if the woman survived. Lies, lies, and more lies. “You shake yer head like ya couldn’t have prevented this. Yer of high power, right?! Do ya have so little control that yer bitches do as they please regardless?! Some of our best friends are lyin’ here, dead!! Yer men coated this fuckin’ place in their blood an’ all you can do is shake yer fuckin’ head!?” Reno pointed to a corner of the church, pointing out the body of a very young boy. “The sisters took that kid in because his ma got hit by a car an’ no one else would take’im!! His 5th birthday was next week, you ugly witch!!” Reno shouted, beginning to tear up when the gravity of the situation was really setting in. “Five!! Yer men killed a fuckin’ five year old because you couldn’t control yer ‘trigger happy’ dumbass followers?!? WHAT KIND OF EXCUSE IS THAT?!?!?” When Rude stood up and spoke up to the woman as well, Reno grit his teeth, hearing more and more of those sweet lies this woman promised. When the dark haired man walked in and told them to watch their mouths, Reno’s blood began to boil. The woman’s further tricks finally did the redhead in and he threw the knife as hard as he could at the man in the suit, hollering at the top of his lungs when it missed and stuck deep into the wall behind him. Reno ran at him only to be grabbed by a SOLDIER, who held him where he was, no matter how much he struggled. “You lying, filthy, cold hearted, bitch!! You promise good lives after you destroy this many?!? The blood in here; the bodies; the lives!! They’re all on your head!!! And somehow you manage to sleep at night!!” In one last effort, Reno quickly snatched a small blade from the SOLDIER’s utility belt and threw it. This time, it did hit the raven, slicing through his uniform and into his shoulder. The SOLDIER then pinned Reno, making him scream from the mix of fury and helplessness that never seemed to go away. He tried to bite the SOLDIER’s arm but was simply slapped away. He finally stopped, breaking down when he felt the now cold blood of one of the victims against his cheek. “Leave the sisters and go back to whatever hell you all came from.” He whispered.

The woman chuckled, “My bitches? On no dear boy, they aren’t mine at all. That happens to be the problem. These little idiots who shoot for no reason belong to Heidegger. My department is newly forming. Tseng is only one of ten members so far. Yes the Infantry must listen to me when I am present, I am Missus ShinRa after all. But that is why I hadn’t wanted that idiot Heidegger informed of what I was trying to accomplish. No one would have been hurt if Rudolph would simply listen to me. But I’m just a woman, what do I know?”

Rude glared at everyone, including Reno. “That’s enough Red, you aren’t making anything better. The gunfire stopped as soon as she arrived. I believe her. And while I don’t want to join her little group, I wouldn’t mind going with the Sisters to make sure they’re alright.”

He moved over to the SOLDIER holding Reno and punched him in quick succession in certain nerve points that made him lose his grip. He caught Reno and righted him, holding him close and just as surely as the SOLDIER had before him, keeping the smaller boy immobile. He glared back at the woman, “That is, unless you could do us all a favor and not take the Sisters away in the first place. I don’t see why they can’t be questioned here. Where they belong.”

The woman gasped as the redhead threw the first knife at Tseng, anger beginning to boil in her veins. Then the fool child charged him, with a flick of her wrist a SOLDIER stopped him, but he got yet another knife and this one hit its mark. She moved over to Tseng who simply pulled the knife from his shoulder, “Are you alright Tseng?”

The black haired man nodded and pulled a kerchief from his pocket to attempt to stanch the bleeding. The woman blinked at the challenge issued by the larger boy. There was no way out of that one, he had her there. “The information we’re after is very sensitive.”

“That’s all you’ve got? Sensitive information? Bullshit.” Rude’s eyes squinted at her, “You know nothing about anything if you think ‘sensitive information’ isn’t known by everyone in the slums before you assjacks come looking for it.” His voice was low with anger and grief. His own family had been murdered for the ‘sensitive information’ they had accidentally overheard one day. “I may not know what the fuck an Ancient is, but if one ever came here then they were obviously in need of help that they were afraid to go to you for. So why would we hand over information about someone who doesn’t want you to know about them. Just what kind of asshole-land are you from?!”

Reno struggled until Rude pulled him close and restrained him. The redhead felt far safer when Rude held him even if it was to restrain him. He closed his eyes and listened to his friend speak to the woman. He could tell Rude had it under control for the most part. The smaller teen just hated that this happened all for a little information. These people had been friends of his. “Talk to the sisters then get the fuck out of our home. Ya caused more than enough trouble by bringin’ these scum bags here.”

The woman rolled her eyes and refrained from reminding the distraught redhead that she had in fact NOT brought the Infantry here, they had arrived before her - hence all the killing that occurred when it didn’t need to. “As you wish. Tseng gather Lucas, Hank, and Vincent and bring them here please.”

The young man nodded his head and left only to return a few minutes later with three more men dressed the same way he was. “Ma’am?”

“I would like the four of you to secure this room.” Instantly four bodies were in motion shooing out the infantry members and making a large radius away from every entrance to the room. Once they were finished and Serena was certain that no one but those in the room would hear the conversations she sighed and pulled out her PHS. “Bring the Sisters to the kitchen please. And you had better hope, for you’re own sake, that they are unharmed.”

The steel in her voice sent a chill down Rude’s back, but he still glared at her and held onto his friend. He watched as all of the Sisters were hustled into the room, thankfully they all looked fine, harried, but unhurt.

“Oh boys!” Sister Ray covered her mouth after her impulsive outburst, fear for them in her brown eyes.

“It’s alright Sister Ray, we’re fine.” Rude answered her, “Red’s just upset about what’s happened here is all. And he isn’t the only one.” He continued to glare daggers at the woman in her pressed white suit.

“No worries Sisters, it’s these boys who have decided me not to take you back to headquarters after all. You’re questioning will be done here.” Serena moved over to an overturned stool and placed it on it’s legs before sitting down on it.

Rude gave her a wary look before releasing Reno and finding non-broken seating for the Sisters and placing them in front of the blonde woman. He hoped that Reno wouldn’t do anything crazy while he wasn’t being held onto.

Reno could tell this woman wanted him to understand she didn’t do the killing but it made no difference in his mind. Did she think he’d welcome her with open arms? When the sisters came in, Reno nodded to Sister Ray, letting her know they were alright. The teen wiped the blood from the floor off his face and watched Rude as he grabbed some chairs. He hated seeing the Sisters sitting before these people. They had already been captured and now they had to be interrogated. They were the last people to deserve this. It was already a frightening and infuriating situation. Reno continued to seethe, watching these Shinra flunkies stand around as though nothing had taken place here. He knew they wanted the sisters to be unharmed but that surely didn’t show with everyone else. He didn’t care who pulled the trigger. If they were connected by Shinra, these people should have been able to stop it. Reno glared at Tseng from the corner of his eye, wishing he had gotten a better hit. He wanted nothing more than to make these people feel the pain that had been brought down on all of them. He wanted them to regret coming here; regret messing with their lives.

Rude clenched his teeth at the frightened faces of the Sisters, but moved back out of the way and over to Reno wrapping an arm around his shoulders to offer what comfort he could. They would stand guard here and make sure nothing happened to the only people who had never treated them like they were a nuisance.

Serena watched both boys closely, she could tell that neither of them trusted her, and the redhead still seemed intent on harming Tseng. Though it wasn’t as if the brash young Wutain hadn’t deserved it. He knew better than to spout off like that, it was dangerous.

Sister Ray stood up from the seat Rude had found for her, “What exactly is it that you want?”

“Straight to the point then,” Serena nodded her blonde head, “I want to know if anyone from this church has ever had dealings with Ifalna Gast.”

Sister Ray gasped and jerked slightly while Sister Helena’s head snapped around from her worried study of young Reno.

“I see that you have. Those of you who have no idea who or what I am talking about may leave the room now. Hank, make sure all of those awful Infantry are gone please.”

The redheaded man nodded and left the room. He returned several minutes later, “They have cleared the area Ma’am.”

“Good, please escort those Sisters who don’t know of Ifalna to another room please, preferably one that is undamaged. They will be free to wander and pick up their home once I’ve finished speaking to these two.”

Rude jerked slightly, he didn’t want the Sisters to be in two different places! “Red? Do you think you could go with them? If you stay here I’ll be counting on you to NOT kill anyone or get yourself hurt.” He looked down into his friend’s angry blue eyes, his own brown ones soft with worry and repressed pain.

Reno shook his head. “No way am I leaving them with these scumbags.” He said, never taking his eyes off Tseng. “If we have to split up, I’m staying here.” The redhead remained standing where he was.

Rude nodded, “Just don’t do anything dangerous. Please,” he trailed off as he followed the five frightened Sisters and this ‘Hank’ person out of the room. “I can’t lose you too.”

Reno noted the concern in Rude’s voice and nodded to his friend with a smirk. “These wanna-be’s couldn’t touch me even if they wanted...not if they don’t want to disobey orders. Isn’t that right?” The redhead looked to the Turks surrounding the Sisters and leaned against the wall with a satisfied smirk and his arms crossed.

Vincent rolled his red eyes at the boy’s impertinence but didn’t move from his station. He didn’t have a good feeling about this. The whole thing stunk of Rudolf ShinRa and his ever growing wish to find his wife dead. He wouldn’t allow those worthless pet projects of Hojo’s or Hollander’s to harm his Lady. He watched as Lucas moved in order to cover the gap Hank leaving had left and Tseng stayed near Serena. None of them took the bait and answered the boy.

Serena motioned for Sister Ray to sit back down, “Please be seated. I personally only want to find her in order to protect her from Hojo. I know what that sicko is capable of. He’s used his own son as an experiment, I nearly lost Vincent to him and his assistant slash wife Lucrecia.” The anger in her voice was very real.

“What would you like to know exactly?” Sister Helena asked.

“Simply when was the last time you saw her.”

“She has not been here in years. After Hojo killed Gast and kidnapped Ifalna and their daughter Aerith, she escaped. She came here with Aerith and asked for our help, but with ShinRa looking for them, there was nothing we could really do. We got them transport on a train out of Midgar, but from what we’ve heard, they never made out.” Sister Ray answered her. “That was at least ten years ago. The other Sister’s weren’t here then, so they wouldn’t know.”

“I’m so sorry that my husband found out that I wanted to speak to you. None of this would have happened if he hadn’t found out. I WILL find out my leak.” She stood up, “Thank you for your help. We’ll get out of your hair now.”

Lucas, Vincent and Tseng all gathered around Serena and they moved off to gather up Hank, leaving the two sisters and the young man behind them. Upon reaching Hank’s location they found him outside an open door way a shocked look on his face and blood dripping from his chin.

“What happened?” Serena cried out.

“Um,” Hank blinked at them, “The Sisters decided to ‘get back at us’ for what we’d done.”

As they moved closer they could see that the five young Sisters were flailing about and some were even hitting the young man who stood in the doorway not letting them get at Hank. “Enough! Hurting them is not going to bring anyone back! It’s not going to put fires out, it’s not going to clean up the blood or fix the furnishings. It’s only going to cause more damage! So just stop it!” Rude was crying now, shocked that Sisters of a Holy Order would behave so under any circumstances. But he wasn’t going to allow them past him until he was sure no one else was going to get hurt.

Reno peeked his head out and saw the entire ruckus. He then saw his friend and bolted towards him, helping him keep the sisters back. “You!” Reno called to Mrs. Shinra. “Get yer men and yer face outta the slums!” he ordered, taking a hit to the jaw. “There are ways outta here! Find one, get out, and NEVER come back!!” It had all been bad enough but to see it have this effect on Rude was too much. The redhead then turned his attention to the riled up Sisters, taking a deep breath. “We’re not all dead! Ya wanna get payback, I get it! Aren’t we the same as they were?! If ya care, look at what yer doin’?!” His words only earned him more thrashing, pulling on his injured hand. He grit his teeth but held firm. “Enough!!”

Sister Ray and Sister Helena had hurried after Reno when the young one had bounced into action when the ShinRa people had left the room. Upon finding the other Sisters wailing on Rude Sister Ray was furious. She listened as Rude entreated them to calm down, then as Reno told the ShinRa folk to leave and pleaded with the Sisters to stop as well. She watched as the ShinRa woman nodded her head and quickly moved down the hallway with her men surrounding her. Then she turned back to the women of her charge and yelled, “THAT IS ENOUGH!”

The five wailing and slapping women stopped as if a puppeteer and pulled their strings tight and as one turned their eyes to Sister Ray who now stood directly behind Rude and Reno. “What on Gaia do you think gives you any right whatsoever to hurt these boys?”

Hands and heads fell and no excuses were given. With a shake of her dignified head Sister Ray took command, “We have much to do Sisters, we’ll start with putting out fires, then move on to moving bodies for burial. After that we will clean the kitchen and make those of us who are left something to eat. Now hop to it!”

She pulled Rude and Reno to her as the Sisters flowed from the room to do her bidding. “Now you boys, are you hurt?”

Once the five women had calmed down Rude had slumped into himself, allowing Sister Ray to pull him back against her gently. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.” He wiped the tired tears from his face and looked over at Reno as the other women flowed past them, “You alright Red?”

Reno let out a sigh of relief when the Shinra left and the women finally calmed down. He shook his head when Sister Ray asked if they were hurt. His hand was sore but that was nothing in comparison to what everyone else had been through. The redhead fought back tears and held his breath for a moment. “If you guys have the fires under control, I’ll get started on the rest with whoever’s well enough to help.” He said, grabbing a shovel from under the rubble that once was the wall that held its weight up. “I’m fine.” He said to Rude before slowly walking over to the young boy’s body that he’d pointed out earlier and knelt down to him. “Sorry ‘bout this.” He whispered. “I know it ain’t fair. I wanted to prank ya on yer birthday. Figured it would be worth the laugh, ya know?” Reno gave the boy’s lifeless body a shaky smile as his tears fell. “Hope it was quick, kid.” With that, Reno covered the boy’s body with a torn up blanket and carried him outside to the graveyard to begin digging.

Rude sighed, “He really shouldn’t be using a shovel or carrying people with his hand like that. But I think it might be worse if we don’t let him.”

Sister Ray nodded her head, “Yes, you are probably right. I will go oversee the other Sisters, I’m sure Helena is not feeling up to it right now.”

Rude nodded, “Alright, I’m going to move bodies. The sooner they are all buried properly, the better we’ll all feel.”

Each moved off in different directions. Rude scoured the area of the church he was currently in, finding three bodies, a mother and her baby crushed under rubble that took him some minutes to move, and an old man who had been dying of Mako poisoning. He said a short prayer over each of them before hefting their broken bodies and carrying them out to the graveyard, laying them side by side near where Reno was digging before going back inside to look for more.

Reno continued to dig and mark more areas when more bodies came out. When he saw the mother and baby, it tore his heart out. The redhead began slamming the shovel into the ground, digging as quickly as possible, crying as the thought of his dead friends kept sinking in. When he was going to move the mother and child to their grave, he snapped and began sobbing on the mother’s lifeless body. His head rested heavily on her abdomen as he heaved and cried. “Mom...’M’sorry. ‘M’sorry...”

Rude made a thorough search of the whole place and found only one other body. As he brought the broken little girl out to the graveyard he saw Reno bawling over the mother and child. He gently set the girl down beside the old man and gathered Reno up in his blood and smoke covered arms. “Reno, I’m so sorry.”

He patted his back comfortingly, but didn’t try to stop him from crying. “It only seems to be these five bodies though. Out over everyone that was there when we went to sleep, there are only five.”

Reno continued to cry as Rude told him the death count. “That’s f-five too fuckin’ many!” Reno just hoped they’d all been asleep when it happened. He hoped they didn’t feel anything.

“I know.” Rude didn’t know what else to do so he simply held onto his friend as tears slid from his own eyes.

“I just can’t look at’em. I can’t” Reno said with a sniffle. He couldn’t bring himself to touch the baby, knowing he’d probably break down even further if he felt injuries anything similar to the adults. The child had been hard enough. “But I don’t wanna leave it to the Sisters either. They been through enough already.”

“Don’t worry about it. If you’ll dig the holes I’ll place them inside. I carried them out here after all. Then we can both place the dirt over them and go start cleaning the kitchen. How does that sound?” Rude asked the boy in his arms.

Reno nodded. “Yeah, I-I can handle that.” He said, wiping his tears away and standing, taking hold of the shovel once more, and continued where he’d left off.

Rude rose after Reno did and scooped up the mother and baby, he carried them gently to the hole in the ground and jumped down into it before laying them carefully to the ground. He positioned them so that they would be comfortable and then climbed out of the grave. He followed after Reno, placing broken bodies in the holes he dug until all the bodies were laid to rest. Then he began slowly sliding the dirt back into the holes.

Reno had to look away for most of it but helped Rude cover the holes again, getting a bit choked up at seeing the mother’s face one last time. Once they were buried, Reno sat on a nearby bench and bowed his head, far too overwhelmed by everything that had taken place.

Once they were finished Rude watched as Reno sat down, he looked away, out over the rest of the well kept graveyard. “If you’d like a moment, I’ll see you inside when you’re ready.”

He moved back into the church and headed for the kitchen. Sister Helena saw him covered in blood and dirt and tears stung her blue eyes. “Oh Rude, is that where you two have been?”

His eyes rose slowly from the floor to look at her, “Yeah, there were only five bodies. Reno’s coping for a bit. What can I do in here?”

The Sister shook her head, but knew not to argue. She handed him a mop and a bucket she had just filled with soapy water and left him to start while she went to find another mop and bucket.

After a few moments to himself, Reno returned inside the church, seeing everyone trying to clean up the mess. He saw Rude and Sister Helena mopping and strode over. “Need any help?” he asked with a weak voice, slightly hoarse from crying.

Sister Helena turned to Reno when he came over, “Let’s just check that hand of yours first. Then we’ll find something for you to help with.” She moved over to the counter and opened the medical kit that had been left there by Sister Ray for when Reno came back inside.

Reno removed the old bandage and winced when it came off, tugging slightly on his sore wound. It had a bit of puss but didn’t seem like anything that couldn’t be fixed if monitored properly and cleaned regularly. His hand was swollen and a bit discolored from the digging but he assumed that too would go away. The wound itself hadn’t opened up nearly as much as he thought.

Sister Helena held out her hands for his, and looked it over. “No so bad as it could be.” She took a soft clean cloth and wet it with water and soap before diligently cleaning Reno’s entire hand off. “Come over to this grate and I’ll pour some disinfectant over it to help clean it out. Then we’ll bandage it back up.” She grabbed a bottle of clear strong smelling liquid and moved over to the main drainage grate in the center of the kitchen floor.

Reno flinched now and then as his wound was treated. It wasn’t too bad though. He sighed, not wanting to have the strong liquid poured onto his already aching hand but made his way over and held it out.

Sister Helena smiled at him, “Sorry Reno.” She clasped his hand carefully and rinsed the wound out with the antibiotic liquid. Then she moved away, setting the bottle on the counter and grabbing up a clean dry cloth and patting his hand dry except for the wound itself. “Alright, let’s wrap this back up.” She led him back to the counter and grabbed up fresh bandages and began rewrapping it.

Reno bit his good hand to prevent an outburst when Sister Helena poured the liquid over his wound. He took a deep breath as she dried and wrapped his hand again, then pulled it to his chest with a muttered curse. “What do ya want me to do?” he asked, still wanting to be of use. “I know my hand’s a bit messed up but it should be okay for some work.”

Rude grinned over at his friend. “I think you should find something in this kitchen that can be made for lunch. Cause I don’t know about all of you, but I’m starving.”

Sister Helena smiled, “That would be helpful. Just make sure you don’t cut yourself on any of the broken crockery.”

Reno nodded and began looking around. He was by no means a chef. In fact, he was a horrible cook. However, it was lighter work and they needed to eat. Fortunately, not everything had been destroyed. He looked through the cupboards and found a large loaf of bread and a few cans of vegetable soup. It wasn’t much but it was enough to feed the people that where there. He knew a stove was out of the question so he grabbed a large pot and went on a bit of a hunt for the three metal rods he knew the Sisters kept for emergencies. Once he found them, Reno set up the frame over a small camping heater, and hung the pot in the middle, pouring the cans of soup into it. It was slower than the stove but with all the damage, Reno wasn’t going to risk it. He gathered any unbroken bowls he could find and set them aside for when the soup was warm enough.

Rude continued cleaning the floor, taking over the duty entirely when Sister Helena was called away to help clear out an intact bedroom. “So, what’re you makin’ Red?”

The soot seemed to be taking forever to come up, but all of the blood was gone by this point and Rude’s arms were aching. “Do you need any help?”

“All I could find was some soup and bread. Should be ready in a few.” He mumbled. “Yer hand’s gonna fall off if ya don’t give yer wrist a break. You’ve been lifting shit all day.” Reno looked over and noticed just how swollen his friend’s wrist already was. He got up and took the mop, setting it against the wall and held Rude’s hand, carefully rubbing his wrist. “It’s hot already. Ya need to rest it”

“Sounds delicious.” Rude smiled over at his friend then looked down at himself with a frown. He caught his breath at the pain when Reno began rubbing his wrist. “I hadn’t realized. Sorry.” He grinned at his buddy a bit sheepishly. “You think we should clean a bathroom and shower next? That way we can all get clean?”

“Sure.” Reno responded. He didn’t really want to stay for long. The whole aura of the place was screwing him up. “I’m gonna kill them.” He whispered angrily, still holding Rude’s hand almost protectively. “Every last one of’em.”

Rude didn’t say anything, but he didn’t agree with Reno’s assessment. Killing more people wouldn’t solve anything, it wouldn’t bring the dead back and it wouldn’t make him feel better. All it would do is bring more sadness and pain to the already overburdened world. But Rude vowed then and there that he would do whatever it took to keep Reno from ruining his life with such a threat.

Just then the Sisters entered the kitchen. “Oh, that smells wonderful Reno. Thank you.” Sister Helena went over and checked the soup. “Seems about done, why don’t you two wash your hands in the sink here and I’ll dish some up for you. Once you’ve eaten you can shower, that area of the church seems to be unharmed.”

Reno tried to stay calm, regardless of the surroundings but he felt his arms twitching and his lips slowly curl back over his grinding teeth. His sorrow was quickly being replaced with and anger even he didn’t trust. Hearing Sister Helena’s voice pulled him back a bit and he took a deep breath, slowly releasing his friend’s hand and nodded to the woman.

Rude nodded his head and once Reno had released he walked over and turned on the faucet. He scrubbed his hands and arms clear up to his elbows and washed his face as well before turning to Reno. “You gonna want any help? What with your hand all bandaged and stuff.”

Reno glanced at his freshly bandaged hand and realised he wouldn’t be able to clean up with it unless he wanted to waste more bandages. “Sure. Thanks.” It was only when he saw his reflection in the shards of the broken mirror that he noticed how filthy he was. Blood and dirt was speckled all over the right side of his face and his arms were a complete mess from the digging, even though he’d only moved one body.

Rude smiled at him and gestured for him to move closer to the sink. Rude wet a clean cloth and began washing the grime from Reno’s face gently.

Reno closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of the soft cloth on his dry, dirty skin. Once he’d been cleaned up, Reno looked back to the food to see Helena pouring soup into the few bowls he found. “Hope it’s enough. I wasn’t able to find much.” He explained, hoping she wasn’t too disappointed.

“Oh this is more than enough Reno. Thank you for making it.” Sister Ray answered him as the food was handed out. Once everyone had a bowl they sat down on the now clean floor to eat.

Rude took his bowl and sat down with his back to one of the many counters. Once seated he realized just how tired and sore he really was. “I may not be able to get up for a while. I hope that’s okay.” He gave a huge yawn as he began eating.

“No problem.” Reno replied, licking his lips as he was handed a bowl. He took a seat next to Rude and nodded. “No one can blame ya fer that. It hasn’t exactly been a normal day.” He said, sipping his soup down, not bothering with a spoon. He was far too hungry and tired to care.

The Sisters giggled, “That’s quite alright. You two rest, we’ll finish straightening up the kitchen.”

Rude finished eating and one of the Sisters took his bowl and spoon to wash and he slid into a doze right where he was. Silent tears trekking their way down his face.

Reno frowned when he saw the tears on his partner’s cheek and pulled him over to rest on his shoulder. He rested his head on Rude’s and whispered to him, even though he was asleep. “It’s gonna be okay. I promise.” Reno closed his eyes and sighed. “I’ll make sure of it.”

The Sisters were concerned by the quiet remark, but knew there was nothing they could do to change the young man’s mind. At least not at the moment, the wound was too fresh. He needed time to come to terms with it and perhaps heal from the ordeal. That and Sister Ray sincerely hoped that he wouldn’t try anything until his hand healed completely. She moved over to him, “If you’re done I can take your bowl. Or are you still hungry? I could get you more to eat.”

Reno sighed and shook his head, gently wiping the tear from Rude’s cheek. “No thanks. I’m not as hungry as I thought.” He replied. “Could I bug ya fer a blanket fer us? It’s kinda cold and I think we could both use some sleep. You too, Sis. Don’t overwork yerself.”

“Alright,” Sister Ray took his dishes and rinsed them out before setting them aside with the rest to wash once everyone was finished. Sister Helena went and found them a blanket and draped it over the two boys, covering them both as best she could. Rude’s tears stopped shortly after they had started and he reacted to nothing happening around him, he simply slept on.


End file.
